Searching Family Roots

A 20-pound rock Jan Grove found at her great-great-grandfather's farm in Michigan is a physical reminder of her family history.

What was a portion of a farmer's stone fence is now a doorstop at Grove's Sebring home.

The rock was a lucky find. As a family history researcher for more than 30 years, Grove most often seeks information culled from public records.

Grove is a member of the Highlands County Genealogical Society. She volunteers regularly at the society's research library in Sebring, at the downtown home of the Greater Sebring Chamber of Commerce.

Laura Horne, of Sebring, explained why she loves the hobby that became hugely popular after Alex Haley's "Roots" was televised.

"You learn about what your ancestors went through and how they lived," said Horne.

And Grove explained why she has spent thousands of hours studying and traveling for family research.

"Family historians connect to the history of the community, state and country," said Grove. "And if you keep repeating the past, you keep repeating the same mistakes over and over."

Graveyards are one of the best places to discover information on long-dead relatives.

Not just birth and death dates, but other tidbits of information, including maiden names, which can make road trips to distant cemeteries invaluable sources for information.

"Headstones give you a reason to look in a particular area," said Grove, who often spends several hours at a time visiting the final resting places of her relatives. "Find out where they die. Sometimes many generations are buried in a family plot, along with the connections that are there."

Grove cautioned budding genealogists that family members are often confusingly named after each other, gravesites are sometimes not where obituaries state they should be or the spelling of family surnames often differs.

Grove said that one of her family surnames was spelled at least 58 ways - everything from Parmenter to Parmeton to Palmiter.

Horne has a photo of a long-dead relative's home, and Grove has several pieces of family-worn clothing, but researchers seek mostly information collected from public records created at the time of the event.

Birth certificates, obituaries, tax bills, family Bibles, land records and U.S. Census records are all better indicators of history then whatever "Aunt Sally" said, according to Grove.

The Internet and specific genealogical Web sites cut travel and the need to physically hold actual records, but a piece of paper itself is still often the only firm evidence.

Grove said that photos can tell their own story.

She talked about pictures taken of the Middleton family men. When her male relatives reached age 45, each developed a distinct crease to one side of their nose that extends up their forehead.

Nancy Ranck, society president, wondered whether certain family traits pass down through the generations. Her father, grandfather and great-great-grandfather all worked in the math field. She enjoys math, too.

"I don't know if there's a mathamatics gene, but there is a predisposition," said Ranck.

Most genealogists can point to relatives who they respect as upstanding citizens and members of their family tree, but Grove said that many families also have someone with questionable ethics.

"In most families, there's a black sheep," said Grove. "We're not responsible for that. We're only responsible for ourselves."

Horne talked about "hitting that brick wall' when information is lacking.

And searches sometimes last years, said Grove. But, when reliable facts are unearthed, the hobby can become an obsession.

"You lose time - there's no concept of time," said Grove. "If you find something you're chasing, you might spend six or eight hours and miss meals, although there are a lot of picnics in cemeteries."

Society members said the best way to research your family tree is to start with yourself and work backward.

Volunteers will assist the public but will not do the work. The research library is free, except for access to some Web sites that charge. To use those sites, you must become a member. Dues are $12 per year. Call 863-385-0911 for information.

The society is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. Meetings are held the first Thursday of each month at 2:15 p.m. at the Sebring Public Library.